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The train finally left Donetsk at about 6.30am for what was estimated to be a journey of three to four hours.

However, there were delays - first, with mechanical problems; and second, at a rebel checkpoint from the railway, several of the Malaysian officers said.

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Planning for the train's arrival appeared to be fluid. By Tuesday morning local time, the train was moving again, but there was no clear schedule for when it might arrive in Kharkiv, or when and where it may stop next.

Kharkiv railway station, where people are waiting the arrival of the train carrying the bodies of MH17 victims. Photo: Paul McGeough

Fairfax understands the transfer of bodies from the train to the plane in Kharkiv could turn out to be a long process, due to the condition of the bodies and the care needed to maintain their integrity, put them through a security scan and pack them properly for the flight to the Netherlands.

Several Malaysian officials were travelling on the train, with the black boxes, and others were making the precarious five-hour road trip through rebel-held territory to reach Kharkiv.

It is not clear if Malaysian officials who opted to shadow the train by driving fully appreciated what they were in for. The road is a nightmare and, driven at night, is a dangerous mix of testing rebel checkpoints and infrastructure that has, well it has disappeared.

The path leading out of Donetsk at midnight was a succession of checkpoints, all of which were in darkness and all of which required that this reporter's driver, Dima, approached them with all lights off. We have to drive a circuitous additional 25 kilometres merely to clear the city and, on rounding a critical turn, we found the way blocked by an overpass that had been bombed and collapsed onto the road beneath it.

As we approached the city of Slaviansk, two weeks ago a rebel stronghold, the road was repeatedly cratered and littered with the debris of war. The Ukrainian national army has retaken the city, but the approach was a mess - and in the darkness it could be lethal.

North of the city we were literally within centimetres of becoming airborne, as the road rising ahead of us simply disappeared.

What had been a bridge, high above an intersecting road, had been bombed by rebels to block the advance of the national army. In an uncanny, reflexive action, Dima hit the brakes and we alighted to find the front wheel of the tyre 10 centimetres from the edge of the precipice.

Thirty minutes further up the road we passed the last of the rebel checkpoints, and thereafter encountered only units of the Ukraine national army which also prefer to sit in the darkness.